The number of white terror suspects being arrested has hit a record high amid a crackdown on far-right extremism.

A total of 91 white extremists were held in swoops by counter-terror police in 2016 – a rise of 28 per cent on the 71 seized the year before.

That was the highest tally since 2003 when 102 white people were arrested for terror offences.

A total of 91 white extremists were held in swoops by counter-terror police in 2016 – a rise of 28 per cent on the 71 seized the year before

The rise has coincided with concerns about the risk posed to the UK by white supremacist groups in the wake of the murder of Labour MP Jo Cox in June last year.

The authorities have expressed concern that there are signs of a resurgence from neo-Nazi groups after loner Thomas Mair was convicted of the brutal daylight killing.

Counter-terrorism police have said that, while the threat is not of the same gravity as that posed by Islamic State or Al Qaeda, there were extreme right-wing groups attempting to provoke violence and sow discord.

RELATED ARTICLES

Share this article

Share

The Home Office, which published the figures today, does not break down the arrests by the type of suspected extremism. But individuals linked to far right groups would be included as well as Muslim converts.

It means that one three of the total 260 individuals held on suspicion of terrorism-related offences were white. The proportion of all those held who were of white ethnicity jumped from 25 to 35 per cent.

It was the only ethnic group to record a rise last year, Home Office figures show. The sharpest fall was for those of Asian ethnic appearance, down by 24 to 125.

The rise in extremists being arrested has coincided with concerns about the risk posed to the UK by white supremacist groups in the wake of the murder of Labour MP Jo Cox (right) by neo Nazi Thomas Mair (left)

TERROR EXPERT SAYS RIGHT-WING EXTREMISM POSES THREAT TO UK

The damning Government figures come after one of Britain's top experts on terrorism law warned that Right-wing extremism can be just as dangerous as Islamic terrorists.

Speaking last month, David Anderson QC, the independent reviewer who scrutinises the operation of the UK’s laws on terrorism, said that 'Extreme Right-wing ideology can be just as murderous as its Islamist equivalent.'

He told the Evening Standard: 'Increasingly, Right-wing extremists such as Thomas Mair, the killer of Jo Cox MP, feed off the tension [caused by Islamist extremism] to plan violence of their own.

'The threat from extreme Right-wing terrorism in the UK is currently fragmented but the massacre perpetrated by Anders Breivik in Norway is a warning against underestimating the threat.

'Both the Government and the courts treat the threat with the seriousness it deserves.'

Meanwhile, arrests for ‘domestic’ terrorism – those not linked to or motivated by any terrorist group based outside the UK such as Islamic State – more than doubled from 15 to 35, accounting for around one in eight arrests.

This coincided with an increase in the number of far-right referrals to the Government’s Prevent counter-extremism strategy. These rose by 74 per cent – from 323 cases in 2014-15 to 561 in 2015-16. About 292 cases – or 52 per cent – involved under-18s.

The latest official statistics also show that the number of people in prison for terrorism-related offences reached a high of 183 – an increase of 40 on the previous year.

Arrests for ‘domestic’ terrorism have more than doubled from 15 to 35, accounting for around one in eight arrests

In total, there were 260 terror-related arrests – a decrease of 8 per cent. However, it was still more than double the 125 arrested five years ago. The Home Office said the figure was ‘relatively high’.

Earlier this week it was revealed that UK security services had foiled 13 potential attacks in less than four years, while counter-terror units were running more than 500 investigations at any time.

The official threat level for international terrorism had stood at severe, meaning an attack is ‘highly likely’, for more than two years.

Lord Paddick, the Lib Dem home affairs spokesman and a former top Metropolitan Police officer, said: ‘The figures seems to reflect the rise of far right extremism and that should worry anyone who, like me, believes in tolerance.

‘Police forces need to be vigilant and do much more to combat these evil and each force should be creating plans to combat this evil. These people peddle hate and fan the flames of division.’

Security Minister Ben Wallace said: ‘We are determined to detect, disrupt and where possible prosecute all those who pose a threat to the UK.

‘At a time of significant threat, it is vital our law enforcement, security and intelligence agencies have the capabilities they need.’